The Empty Garden
by sea-ess-eye
Summary: Regina has the dagger and forces the Dark One to reveal the real reason she saved her. Emma is more interested in pranks. Post Season 4 finale prompt from tumblr. Swan Queen (unrequited but heavily implied).


**THE EMPTY GARDEN**

 **A/N:** I received a post S4-finale prompt from a wonderful anon on tumblr... and it turned into a 5k word fic oops. Enjoy! Please leave a review if you'd like. Thanks for reading :).

(Rated for a few bad words. This is a Swan Queen story but contains minor Hood/Hook, just enough to get rid of them.)

 **PROMPT:** Have you written a darkone!Emma prompt yet? Where Regina has the dagger and forces Emma to do something? (Like admit the real reason why she saved her) that'd be wonderful if you could ~ I love your writing and your blog 3

* * *

Unbelievable. Emma Swan was still ruining Regina's life from wherever she was.

Ever since her arrival in Storybrooke years ago, the blonde had been trying to ruin Regina's life in one way or another. This latest attempt of sacrificing her soul had been intended to achieve the exact opposite, to save her from losing her chance at a happy ending, but actually it was making Regina miserable...

 _Seconds after Emma disappeared into swirling ribbons of dark magic, Regina leapt forward and snatched up the curved dagger from the road. The queen gripped the handle and rotated the blade in the soft glow of the streetlights. Her heart clenched in horror seeing the newly inscripted letters of the former Saviour's name._

" _What happened?" cried David. "Where is she?"_

" _We have to find her," said Mary Margaret, with tears forming in her eyes. "There must be something we can do!"_

 _Regina shook her head and turned to the others. "There isn't. Emma has become the next Dark One."_

" _She can't be," said David._

" _Mr Gold can't tell us anything now," Mary Margaret said to her. "You're the only one who knows enough about dark magic. Is there anything we can do to bring her back?"_

 _Regina looked down, silent, and felt the blade begin to hum in her hand._

" _Aye," said Hook, speaking for the first time. "She can summon the Dark One. With that dagger. The Dark One must obey whoever holds it."_

" _No," snapped Regina, eyes blazing at the pirate for even suggesting it. "I will never use it to control her."_

" _What if she hurts someone?" David argued. "Or worse? She has the same power that Rumpelstiltskin had and look what became of him. He destroyed lives."_

 _Mary Margaret held onto her husband for comfort. "We can't let that happen to Emma. Otherwise she'll never be able to forgive herself."_

" _She'll live," Regina muttered, knowing herself the burden of having to live with one's evil deeds of the past._

" _Please, Regina?" pressed Mary Margaret, gesturing at the dagger. "I need to see my daughter."_

" _We could use it to keep an eye on her," David suggested. "Until we figure this out."_

" _I said NO." Regina glared at the three of them. "There must be another way and I will find it."_

How could they not understand? There was only one kind of magic powerful enough to break the curse that enslaved the Dark One. It was a line the queen could not cross, she would never be able to repay the favour and be the one to save the Saviour for a change. It would certainly not be her, perhaps there was no-one at all. Regina realised in that instant that Emma was lost to her forever...

* * *

Several weeks had passed since Emma's disappearance with no word and no sign of her whereabouts.

Explaining what had happened to Henry was one of the hardest things Regina had ever done. She couldn't find the words to explain why Emma had chosen to sacrifice the light of her own soul so that Regina wouldn't lose what was left of hers. It did not seem a fair trade. Knowing what she did of magic, Regina wondered why the darkness had chosen her to attack in the first place. The goodness in her heart was a mere morsel upon which to feed, whereas the goodness in Emma's constituted a feast.

The worst part was that it had all been for nought. Emma was gone; Henry was despondent but certain that they could find a way to bring her back; Hook drunk-dialled her at 2am every night to blame her for Swan's actions; and every day the Charmings pleaded with her to use the power of the dagger to summon their daughter.

Regina was miserable.

She couldn't sleep, or rest, or think of anything but Emma and the events of That Night. The one question her mind played with over and over again was _why_. Why had Emma give up her mortal life for Regina's happiness? The former orphan finally had love in her life from family and a relationship. Why would she give up what she had sought for so long? It didn't make sense and the only one who knew wasn't around to answer.

All Regina had now was Robin. He tried to be understanding but his patience wore thin each time she ignored him or failed to return his calls. She spent time with Roland whose dimpled smile almost made her lips form a curve. But there was something missing. Happy endings weren't all they promised to be. She couldn't be happy now, not in light of Emma's sacrifice and Henry's loss. The former Evil Queen had learned that it was impossible for her to have happiness at the expense of someone else's.

She was living half a life because there was a gaping hole in her heart. Again. This was a new one.

"I don't know what to do anymore!" Robin was pacing around the office, becoming more worried and agitated. "It's like you're not even here sometimes the way you zone out. It scares Roland, he thinks he's done something wrong. I can't trust you to take care of him in this state. And I can't make you- … I don't know how to help you!"

The Mayor stared at her computer monitor, scrolling through police reports. The text rolled up as she pored over tedious details, finding nothing.

"Regina, are you listening to me?... _Regina_!"

"What?" Regina's eyes flicked up to his for a bare second, it was all her attention could spare.

"This is exactly what I mean," said Robin. He ran a frustrated hand through his hair and then softened his tone. "I thought you wanted us to be together. I know it must be difficult to have lost Henry's mother - _I know_ \- but you can not stop living your own life altogether."

"I need time," said Regina, distracted by the glare on her screen. "I need to find her. I need answers. Then everything can get back to normal."

Robin came around to her side of the desk to place a hand on her shoulder. "Crusades can take longer than you think. You might be risking everything on what may never happen. You have to learn to let her go."

 _Let go of WHAT? I have nothing._

"Emma would want you to be happy," he said softly.

 _Then why did she leave me alone and miserable!_ her mind screamed. But he couldn't hear it. How could he not understand what she was going through? She began to think he'd never known her heart at all. Regina knew what it was like to fall in love in an instant, but she'd never considered that it was possible to fall _out_ of love in so short a time.

Regina swallowed hard. All of a sudden tears burned in her throat and pricked her eyes. She wanted him gone. She wanted to cry. She wanted it to all go away.

Robin gave her a pitying expression. "Sometimes the people we love don't come back to us."

The mayor's stomach rolled over. She shoved her chair back from her desk, not caring that it collided with Robin, and then stepped far out of his reach. She couldn't look at him, fearing that she would feel nothing. Or worse - disgust. It was a heavy price that she had been paid, letting Emma go out of her life again… for _this_?

Robin must have noticed her reluctance to be near him or be comforted by him. He sighed. "I'm not sure I can do this anymore..."

"Then don't," Regina said coldly. She glared at him one last time before stalking out of her office.

Over the coming weeks she didn't even notice that he never called on her again. Her heart was full of regrets, though none were over him. If he was waiting for the former queen to come to him he'd be in for a long wait.

* * *

It was subtle but there was something amiss in Storybrooke. Regina could feel it. Every now and again she caught the stench of dark magic in the air. Before long, people were getting hurt.

At first it seemed like a random case of assault. As the Acting Sheriff, David investigated the crime. The victim's description of his attacker was too strange to be believed and without good evidence no further progress could be made.

Only Regina suspected who the perpetrator was, having seen the victim before, not long before Emma had disappeared. She'd caught a glimpse of his identity as he was driving away from her office when the Sheriff had come to pick her up one day.

" _Seriously?!" Emma bent over to inspect the passenger side of her yellow Bug. "That asshole lawyer just scratched my car and drove away!"_

 _Regina waited nearby, tapping her foot. "It hardly makes a difference. Can we go now? I don't want to be late."_

 _Emma gave her a look of mock offense. "Did you just insult my car?"_

" _No, dear. Never." The Mayor pursed her lips to hide a smile._

" _You did!" Sheriff Swan grinned playfully, leaning into her hip in that classic cocky stance. "It sounds to me like someone wants to walk to Henry's school for the presentation. Someone wearing uncomfortable-yet-very-attractive high heels."_

" _If you keep stalling we'll be late in any case. I do look forward to seeing your mother decide between grounding you and giving you detention."_

 _Emma opened the passenger door with a flourish. "Your carriage awaits the placement of the Royal behind, Your Majesty." She carried through the pretense, offering her a hand as though Regina might have needed one. Before knowing what she was doing, the queen accepted._

 _The touch of their hands, as always, felt like magic..._

The victim was George Thumb, a local defense lawyer. Criminal investigation in Storybrooke was something of a no-brainer when magic wasn't involved - _everybody_ was local. There were plenty of suspects to choose from among his former clients, however, Regina suspected someone on the other side of law enforcement. The man had been beaten within an inch of his life and whoever had done it had left a single laceration across the man's left cheek. It puzzled the police: why would an attacker with access to a knife use their fists if they intended grievous harm?

The only description the terrified victim gave was the word "gold" and because the pawnbroker Mr Gold had been in a coma-like state for some time nobody had any idea what it meant. Except Regina.

It made her afraid that Emma as the new Dark One was exacting her revenge for slights of the past. If this is what she dealt out for scratching her precious car, what could the Mayor expect for all of the invisible scratches she had inflicted upon the former orphan during their first year?

Lacking anyone less irritating to talk to, Regina related her suspicions to Mary Margaret one day. The queen had recently taken to visiting the Charmings (under the guise of taking Henry to visit his grandparents and his baby uncle). Every time she entered a harried-looking schoolteacher would plonk an infant into her arms to take herself a break. Baby Neal was much more pleasant that his namesake, in fact, Regina warmed to him totally after noticing his resemblance to her own son at the same age. He was the least annoying of the Charmings so far, if only because he couldn't talk yet.

Today when Regina turned up Mary Margaret seemed more out of it than usual and kept hold of her baby son herself.

"Are you sure Emma's here?" the pixie-haired brunette asked in a distracted tone. "Somewhere in Storybrooke?"

"Yes, I can sense her magic," Regina nodded. "Especially now that it's… different." (She stopped herself in time from saying 'dark'.)

Mary Margaret bit her lip. "Something strange is happening. But I don't want to believe it… It can't be her."

That peaked Regina's curiosity. "What happened?"

"A few times when I've put Neal down for a nap I've come back later and found him outside his crib. I know sometimes toddlers can get out by themselves but he doesn't stand up by himself yet. Once I found him on the change table where could have rolled off! At first I thought I must have left him there by mistake because I'm so sleep deprived and I was horrified at myself. I felt like I was going crazy!"

Regina urged her to go on.

The young mother hugged her baby tighter. "But now I'm not sure. This morning the phone rang while I was giving Neal his bath so I wrapped him in a towel and put him out here in the playpen. After I hung up, the towel was there but he was gone. When I went back inside I found him lying in the bath water all by himself!"

Tears fell down Mary Margaret's cheeks. "I'm a terrible mother. He could have drowned. I don't want to take my eyes off him, not even for a second. I can't sleep at all for worrying."

"It's not you," Regina said, introducing the grim topic with hesitance. She summarised her suspicions with both the baby and the assault case. "I think it's Emma. She's taking revenge for perceived slights in her past however small they may be."

Mary Margaret gasped. "You think she's endangering her brother's life? But he's just a baby! What does she think he's done to her?"

Regina raised her shoulders. "He replaced her? He gets more of your attention... he has the childhood Emma should have had... he has a stupid name… Who knows? We can't make the mistake of crediting her to have a rational mind about it. Not now that she is the Dark One. Any repressed anger or resentment that the old Emma might have hidden will be at the forefront of her mind now. You and David need to protect yourselves too."

"How can we do that? She's so powerful!"

The younger woman's face pleaded with her for answers but Regina had none to give. Before she left the apartment she cast as many protection spells as possible, all the while knowing that it would never be enough when the time came.

* * *

These days it was too quiet in the house at 108 and tonight was no exception.

Formerly as the mother of a toddler son, Regina had been told to expect that having a teenage boy in the house one day would be worse than the hell of the 'terrible twos'. A non-stop cacophony of arguments, loud music, and wild parties. She had never believed it though as he grew up; _her_ son spent hours reading stories and comic books and she couldn't imagine him any differently.

Before the events of That Night, Henry had been inviting Emma over so often that Regina was no longer surprised to come home from work to find the two of them battling it out on the xbox. The three of them would have dinner and when Henry left them alone afterwards the two women talked. It was … nice.

The Mayor was sure that Henry found it lonely at home too, now that Emma was gone. Henry believed with his whole heart that his birth mother would come back to them though. Regina didn't have the comfort of that faith. There wasn't anyone she knew who had turned their life around after going Dark. The former Evil Queen refused to count herself and her mentor Rumpelstiltskin as successes. They were only partially reformed at best.

Regina wanted to talk to someone about what'd happened. The one she really wanted wasn't available. But even if Emma was here, what would she say?... " _Yes, Regina, it is crazy for you to have feelings for me after I turn Evil. You like bad girls do you?"_ It would be something like that, accompanied by a look which was both flirty and a challenge. Or maybe that was just her imagination and wishful thinking.

There was something slightly gratifying to the former Evil Queen in knowing that, like her, Emma had been forced down a dark path and was now imperfect too. Now they had even more in common. But not as much as Regina secretly wanted.

It was getting late but there was no way Regina was going to go to bed with those kinds of thoughts of Emma on her mind again. She needed company. The Mayor made her way down the hall to her son's bedroom, noting that the door was shut.

She knocked softly and waited. Hearing a mumbled "Yeah?" she went in.

"Hey Mom." Her son greeted her. Henry was sitting on the bed, resting against the headboard with his growing legs stretched out.

Regina made an effort to smile. "Ready for bed?"

"I guess."

"Henry," said Regina with concern at his tone and overall posture. "I came in to say goodnight. Is there something bothering you?"

 _Apart from the fact that you have two Evil mothers, one whose current whereabouts are unknown._

The teenager shrugged.

When she went to sit on the edge of the bed, a comic book that had been sitting on the quilt slid off. As it fluttered to the floor a plain white envelope fell out. Regina bent over to retrieve it.

"D-don't!" Henry stammered. "Please don't read that. It's addressed to me."

Regina straightened up, searching her son's face carefully. Something was wrong with him. "Okay," she said slowly. "Is there anything you want to tell me? You seem downhearted tonight."

"It's from Emma," the boy mumbled. "She left me a letter."

It took all her self-control to not snatch the missive from the floor and devour its contents. "Did she say what happened to her? Or where she is?"

"Nope. She just wanted to tell me some stuff."

"Like what?" said Regina, suspicious.

Henry looked at her and hesitated before speaking. Then everything spilled out. "She said she never wanted me and that I ruined her life. She wanted me to know that's why she gave me up, because she wanted to start her life over without some brat getting in the way. The only reason she stayed in Storybrooke after I brought her here was to take advantage of us. She didn't want me. Then or now."

 _Oh god, no._ Regina's heart sank into her stomach for the pain her baby boy must have felt upon reading such things. It was everything he'd been afraid of since learning he was adopted. It was Emma's own secret fear as well - feeling unwanted and unloved. The worst part was that none of it was true. The former queen berated herself that she'd let this happen. The two people she loved most in the world both had cause to doubt how much they were wanted in her life. She wanted them both _so_ much.

Regina took her son's hand and gave it a squeeze. "Henry, she's only saying those things because her heart has become Dark and empty of love. It's not the truth. You know it's not."

"But what if it is?" Henry insisted. "What if going Dark has only made her more honest?"

"No." Regina shook her head adamantly. "Your mother loves you, I promise. She saved you with True Love's Kiss remember?"

"But you can still love someone even though they ruined your life, can't you?"

Regina's heart jolted at the question. She remembered ranting about that once in the woods when Emma had been irritating her by following her around like a kicked puppy. She herself had accused Emma of ruining her life… but now? Did she think she could love someone again after that?

"Yes," Regina admitted finally. "I suppose it's possible to love someone who ruined your life."

Henry sighed. "I wish Mom was here. I miss her."

"Me too."

* * *

Anger boiled inside her now. At first, Regina thought she could live with it but not any more. She couldn't live with Henry being hurt. She would just have to take a leaf out of the former bailbondsperson's book and find Emma Swan, to track her down and make her explain herself. It was clear in her mind what she had to do: summon the Dark One.

She could see it already. The former Sheriff would appear in dark form-fitting pants and a black leather jacket, grinning belligerently as her hair shone like spun gold. Then the queen would hold the dagger against the glittery skin of the new Dark One's throat and demand that she answer a single question:

" _Why would you do this? I need to know!"_

Emma was the Saviour and saving people was what she did. But why would she kiss her lover goodbye and throw herself into the void? Why would anyone do that for someone who wasn't important to them? She and Regina didn't have that kind of relationship. Sure, they co-parented the same child, they'd overcome the harmful competitiveness of their first year together and their uneasy truce had developed into something resembling a friendship.

Several times over the years Emma had acted the hero and saved Regina's life, but the Mayor had always assumed it was out of a sense of moral duty. This time the irritating blonde had sacrificed her _self_. Her soul. Her goodness. It was the kind of thing someone would do for someone they l-

" _Is it true?" Regina slammed the other woman against the wall with the dagger in her hand. "Why did you save me. Answer me, Emma Swan, or so help me I'll-!"_

 _The cruel mocking laugh was clear in her imagination. Emma as the Dark One found the idea ridiculous and made sure she knew it._

" _You know why," the gold-skinned Emma simpered, heedless of the blade at her neck. "It's because I'm secretly in love with you." She barely finished the sentence before she burst out laughing._

Regina rolled her eyes at her own stupid fancy. Who knew what Emma would be like now? And even if - _if_ \- the reason for her sacrifice was love? That was surely over now that she had gone to the proverbial Dark side. The only motives the Dark One ever possessed were power and vengeance.

It would be impossible to track down the Dark One by mortal means. Regina didn't have the patience for it either. There was, however, an option that could get her some answers in an instant. An option she had heretofore refused.

The dagger slept with Regina every night under her pillow. During the day it moved around with her from place to place, never far from her sight or touch.

She'd considered any number of "safe" spots in which to hide it but there was no means - mortal or magical - to prevent the Dark One from stealing it. Emma was a trained thief after all and now that she had the most powerful magic in town there was nothing to stop her from accessing the key to controlling her own power.

Regina kept the dagger near her at all times.

From her bedroom she retrieved the wavy-edged blade from where it rested on her pillow in preparation for the next sleepless night. It felt cool in her hand. No matter how many times she looked at the metallic object she couldn't get used to seeing the engraved letters that spelled out 'Emma Swan' as the Dark One's current name.

"Emma." It came out weak so Regina cleared her voice. "I summon thee, Dark One."

"Finally." The answer came as a drawl from behind her, sarcastic and yet almost flirtatious. "You could've just asked me nicely to come out and play. What took you so long."

There was now a dark-clad figure reclining on her bed. It was Emma, looking much as she'd imagined her in all black and leather and shining white-gold hair. Every aspect of her from her voice to her expressions seemed different now. Her Emma-ness was missing and it was heartbreaking.

"Earth to Regina…" said the imp with a smirk. "Did you summon me here for a reason or are you just going to stare at me? Oh hey, guess what. You don't have to do your Evil stuff yourself anymore now that you've got me. How's it feel to have your very own pet Dark One? You want me to kill my mother? Maybe my little brother too? That would be really awful wouldn't it. It'd be _perfect_."

Regina stared in amazement. This incarnation of Emma Swan was even more irritating than the original. This one was cruel.

"Why did you do it, Emma?"

"It seemed like a good idea at the time. You weren't worth it but I got something in return that is. Power. Freedom."

If that comment hurt her Regina refused to acknowledge it. "You're lying."

"The truth is," said Emma, now become serious. "I was sick of being the Saviour. I never wanted any of it. I got tricked into staying in this nightmare of a small town by a kid I didn't want; I got tricked into taking a job on the same side of the law that threw my ass in jail when I was still a child; and for some reason I was still living with the parents who abandoned me at birth. I hated it."

"You loved it," insisted Regina.

Emma's gold-flecked eyes hardened at the contradiction. "What."

"You stayed in Storybrooke because you fell in love with your son. You're the Sheriff because you help people find the justice you never found for yourself. You love your parents because you know they wanted you more than anything in the world."

The Dark One looked away. "I'm better off alone. I don't have to hide what I feel anymore."

"Oh really?" scoffed Regina. "How is this new life working out for you, Emma? You spend your days skulking around in the shadows committing assaults for petty infractions? My my, how truly Evil of you! You are nothing compared to what I was like. You don't have it in you to take an innocent life into your hand and crush it."

"Are you inviting me to escalate to homicide? Should I try it now?"

"You won't do it."

"You sure about that?"

"I have the dagger," Regina reminded her. "I can force you to do whatever I please. You aren't free from me."

"When I get hold of that dagger - and I will - then you'll know what I'm capable of as the Dark One. You have no idea how many times I've wanted to kill you, Regina."

"You won't kill me. You sacrificed your soul to save me."

"That's not why I did it," Emma scoffed.

"You did it for _me_." Regina's eyes glinted with the pleasure of goading her. "You're so much the Saviour that you can't even turn Evil properly. The only reason you went Dark was by doing something noble. You gave up all the goodness in your soul on the off chance that I might be happy."

The Dark One got up and paced a few steps. Her glittery jaw set hard as she gritted her teeth. "And are you… happy with your Forest Friend? I suppose you're falling into bed with him at every opportunity. Or maybe he prefers to ' _take you'_ outdoors."

"That's none of your business."

Emma let out a single sarcastic laugh. "Oh right, yeah, of course it's none of my business. All I did was sacrifice my soul so that you and your True Love could go fuck yourselves to a happy ending. The least you could do is tell me it was worth it, tell me you're happy."

"I'm not," spat Regina.

"Nothing's ever good enough for you is it."

"I'm not happy because you're an IDIOT. You've made us all miserable with that idiotic stunt you pulled. But so help me, Emma Swan, if you hurt Henry again I will exert the full power of this dagger to control you."

For a second all she saw was a blur. A black form faster than the eye could track. Then the Dark One was standing in front of her, well inside a comfortable distance. Her piercing gold eyes and the skin of her face glittering in patches were bare inches away from Regina's own.

"You want to control me," the Dark One murmured, staring at her like she was a puzzle. "Is that something you'd like?"

"Yes," Regina snapped, unwilling to let on how rattled she was. "I'd like you to stop doing stupid things. But perhaps even controlling you with the dagger isn't strong enough for that."

"What do you want, Regina?"

The Mayor let out a sharp breath.

"You could use me..." said Emma, taunting with a gleam in her eye. "Use the Dark One to get what you want. That's what I'm here for. All you have to tell me is what you want me to do… for you… to you?"

Whatever the imp was doing, it was both psychological and magical and had Regina transfixed. It was Mesmerism. She hadn't been the Dark One for long but apparently she'd already learned the art of manipulation. The old Emma would have shunned such 'jedi mind-powers'. This Emma used them willingingly. Regina knew she had to stop it before it went too far and pulled her in too deep.

The burst hit Emma square in the chest and propelled her across the room. As the slender leather-clad form hit the ground, an expression of pure shock flitted across her face before it was replaced by a malevolent glare.

Regina took one step at a time closer until she was standing over her. She half expected the imp to hiss at her. Reaching out to pin the tip of the dagger underneath a belligerent Emma's chin, she tipped her face upwards.

"Don't."

Emma looked like she wanted to spit. "Don't what."

"Don't give in to it. Don't come near Henry without my being there. Don't try to harm your brother again. Or I will kill you to stop the darkness convincing you to do something you'd regret."

"Is that all, _Mistress?_ " the female imp said sarcastically. "Any more orders?"

"Yes. Tell that pathetic boyfriend of yours to stay the hell away."

Emma smirked. "Jealousy suits you. Are you ordering me not to fuck him anymore? You don't want your pet playing with anyone else? You want me all to yourself?"

Regina scrunched her nose and let herself smile in the same tone. "I am doing this for your own good. I'm saving you from yourself."

* * *

The Dark One hadn't stuck around that night. She'd disappeared into a cloud of sooty black smoke, probably to avoid getting tasked with any more orders. Like the Cheshire Cat the last visible part of her was the shit-eating grin she wore. As soon as the glittery imp had gone Regina let out a sigh of relief. She'd checked on Henry again and then collapsed into bed clutching the dagger in her fist.

In the morning the Mayor woke and realised with a start that the blade was no longer under her pillow. It took the better part of an hour to search the house, all the while in a thorough panic that Emma had come back in the night and stolen it. She reminded herself that it was unlikely (since she was still alive).

On a whim Regina went to her office at Town Hall to check there. The last place she would've expected the dagger to be if the Dark One had indeed taken possession of it. But there it was, balanced on the healing limb of the apple tree lay the curvy-edged dagger whose script read 'Emma Swan'.

The Mayor remembered the scene as though it had taken place only yesterday - the image of the newly arrived, former delinquent birth-mother of her son standing under the Honeycrisp tree wielding a chainsaw.

 _You have no idea what I am capable of._

It had to have been Emma playing tricks. The imp could've taken it at any time and yet she'd left it like a message in a place for Regina to find and understand. She'd left the dagger in the care and trust of her former nemesis, the woman she'd butted heads with and come up against over and over. She hadn't even damaged the tree.

Regina smiled knowingly as she retrieved the dagger, relieved that it was safe again. She understood the message now, even though it seemed to be a childish prank. When this was over they'd have a lot to talk about.

Casting a glance around the garden she wondered if maybe she was being observed by someone hidden there. Someone with a pair of gold-flecked green eyes and a grin on her glittery face.

"You're still an idiot," said Regina to the empty garden. "But I know why you did it. Thank you."


End file.
